Two years ago Jaden Hayes lost his Father and then in early July the unthinkable happened when his Mother passed away in her sleep. In the middle of the grief and sadness currently being experienced by his family and friends, six year old Jaden has started ‘The Smile Experiment’ as a small way of bringing a little bit of happiness into his life after telling his Aunty that he was tired of all the “craggy” faces and wanted to see people smiling again.
Image from Instagram
Jaden started with the goal of collecting 500 smiles by ‘collecting smiles’ on the streets of his hometown Savannah in Georgia. He armed himself with a collection of toy dinosaurs, beads and rubber ducks which he hands out to strangers he meets.
Image from Instagram
His cousin Natasha Compton (who has been recording Jaden’s special journey on Instagram) told The Huffington Post that people around the world (including Australia) have been sending their smiles to Jaden
“He started with a goal of 500 smiles, not including the smiles that have been pouring in on the Internet, last found was just over 300.” Natasha went on to say:
“I do believe that The Smile Experiment is helping Jaden process the loss of his mother, but it is also showing him that even one smile can make a difference… I am pretty sure that is something he already knew, but just needed to be reminded of.”
It’s not just Jaden who is being helped thanks to this project, friends and family have also been inspired and comforted by Jaden, Natasha has said “As far as others go, the experiment is definitely helping my mother and I cope with our loss and through Jaden we are seeing that no matter how bad you are hurting, if you can smile, for whatever reason, it will eventually start to get easier.”
Image from Instagram
Our thoughts are with Jaden and his family during this difficult time. If you would like to get involved with Jaden’s project and share your smiles, simply share a photo on social media using the hashtag #TheSmileExperiment
